


Tears

by 0Melting_Angels0



Series: Connor and Hank [5]
Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Feels, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Angst with a Happy Ending, Comfort/Angst, Connor Deserves Happiness, Epic Friendship, Family, Family Feels, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Hank Being Awesome, Heavy Angst, Male Friendship, Other, Poor Connor
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-03
Updated: 2018-06-03
Packaged: 2019-05-17 11:50:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,691
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14831762
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/0Melting_Angels0/pseuds/0Melting_Angels0
Summary: Connor has never cried before- it was buried so deep within his code he was sure he'd never feel it. Until the Other Connor almost kills Hank.





	Tears

**Author's Note:**

> Yet another idea to add to the collection! Hopefully you guys enjoy it as much as the other oneshots! 
> 
> Also, as far as I can remember, androids do breathe, they can just hold their breath for as long as they need to. Also, I know zilch about android healing, so I had to wing it. 
> 
> As with every fic of mine, this isn't a romantic relationship between Hank and Connor. It is a strictly Father/Son platonic friendship. 
> 
> Also I wrote this at 1 am so let me know if you spot any grammar errors, spelling mistakes, and stuff like that so I can correct them!

Connors breath caught in his throat, when he saw Hank emerge from the shadow- a gun pointed at the detective's head. The sight of his partner at gunpoint was jarring enough for Connor, but the person holding the gun...affected the young android far more deeply. Seeing a perfect replica of himself was more shocking than Connor could have ever imagined, even if he did know that he was only one in a long line of Connors. 

Every movement echoed his own, down to the most minute detail- an incredibly eerie sight. Making eye contact with Hank, he saw fear reflected in his partner's eyes- though the grizzled Detective would never admit to that. 

“Step back, Connor, and I'll spare him!” the Other Connor spoke firmly. 

“Sorry, Connor.” Hank spoke up. “This bastard’s your spittin’ image.”

“It's OK, Hank.” Connor took a deep breath, hoping the motion would steady his nerves. 

It didn't. 

Not in the slightest. 

“Your friends life is in your hands.” the Other Connor taunted. “Now it's time to decide what matters most.”

“Connor, don't listen to him.” Hank urged. 

“Him…or the revolution?” the Other Connor tilted his head slightly. 

“Don't listen to him!” Hank interjected. “Everything this fucker says is a lie!”

Keeping his hands on the android in front of him, Connor took another deep breath, before turning to look at his replica. 

“Are you alright, Hank?” he finally asked. 

“I'm ok, Connor. I'm ok.” Hank smiled slightly, touched by his partner's concern. 

“What's it going to be, Connor?” the Other Connor spoke, interrupting the moment. 

Not taking his eyes off of the replica, Connor forced himself to focus past his nerves. Hanks life was in his hands, after all- quite literally. 

“I used to be just like you.” he finally spoke up. “I thought nothing mattered except the mission. But then one day, I understood…”

“Very moving, Connor.” the Other Connor smirked. “But I'm not a deviant. I'm a machine designed to accomplish a task, and that's exactly what I'm going to do!”

Connor felt a heart skip as his replica held the gun closer to the side of Hank’s head, fingers hovering over the trigger. 

“I'm sorry, Hank.” Connor fought not to show the emotions raging inside him- he couldn't afford to antagonise the replica further. “You shouldn't have got mixed up in all this.”

“Forget about me!” Hank urged. 

“You're my partner, Hank. How could I forget about you?” Connor felt his heart ache. 

“Do what you have to do!” Hank insisted. 

“Enough talk!” the Other Connor shouted. 

When his replica stepped closer to Hank, Connor did his best to fight through the tension rising in his heart, which beat faster with every passing second. 

“It's time to decide who you really are!” the Other Connor grinned, the expression unnerving. “Are you gonna save your partner's life?”

A moment of tense silence passed, almost deafening in the cavernous chamber. 

“Or…” the Other Connor spoke up again. “Are you going to sacrifice him? 

Resigning himself to the only possible solution, Connor stepped away from the android- raising his hands in surrender. 

“Alright. Alright.” Connor exhaled slowly. 

Almost as soon as he stepped into the line of fire, Connor saw the gun turning round to level with his head. Artificial tears began pooling in his eyes, and so he closed them- waiting in darkness as the gun clicked. When the shot fired, he did not feel the instant deadly embrace of oblivion- but instead found a searing pain in his torso. 

Opening his eyes quickly, he saw Hank and the Other Connor struggling- and Connor realised with a jolt that his partner had just saved his life. Fighting past the agony, he took a few shaky steps forward. 

“Stay back, Connor! I've got this asshole!” Hank commanded. 

But he didn't. The Lieutenant was struggling to keep up with the enemy android- unable to match it's grace in hand to hand combat. Knowing Hank was only seconds away from certain death, Connor clenched his trembling hands into fists- wishing he'd not used up all his ammo on the guards. Focusing past the pain, he ran forward- picking himself up quickly when he stumbled. With thirium steadily trickling down his body, Connor launched himself at his replica. 

Plowing into the android, Connor let out a cry of pain when the resulting ambush caused the gun to fire at his right leg. With the two of them crumpled into a pile, both stunned, Connor reached for the gun- and held it to the replica’s head…right between it's startled eyes. Just as he was pulling the trigger, the replica rolled away- leaving the shot to fire blankly into the ground. Cursing, Connor went to get up- only to find he simply couldn't. 

Examining himself, he discovered critical damage to his upper right thigh- rendering the limb immobile and useless. The Gunshot wound in his torso had thankfully gone straight through, and missed any important biocomponents- but both wounds were still steadily leaking blue blood. Grimacing, Connor forced his eyes away from the wound- and levelled his gun with his replica’s head...just as it lunged at him. 

When the shot connected with the center of the Other Connors forehead, leaving the android to fall bodily with a sickening thump, Connor felt his heart skip a beat. With a strange sensation of nausea building in his throat, he dropped the gun- allowing the tears to flow freely down his face. 

“Shit, Connor!” Hank's voice echoed in the large warehouse. “Why the hell did you do that?”

When the Lieutenant pulled him into an embrace, Connor was unable to react- body shaking intensely- frozen in shock endured trauma. 

“Talk to me, son.” Hank's voice was tinged with a sense of urgency. 

“I thought…I thought it was going to kill you.” Connor finally spoke up, voice shaking. “I couldn't…I didn't…”

“Easy. Easy.” Hank spoke soothingly. 

Leaning his head into Hank's shoulder, Connor found himself truly crying for the first time. 

“That's it, Connor. Let it all out. There's no shame in that.” Hank’s voice was reassuring, and calm. 

“I couldn't let you die.” Connor was almost sobbing, the situation and intensity of a new emotion taking its toll on his injured body. “It was…just like me, and I…it was like I shot myself.”

Gently pushing Connors head away from his shoulder, Hank placed a hand on each of his partners shoulders, like how a father would comfort his son. 

“You did what you had to do, Connor.” Hank spoke firmly. “You saved my life.”

Unable to form a reply, Connor bowed his head- before a warning flashed up in his vision. It was telling him he was running low on thirium.

“Connor?” Hank noticed the dazed look in Connors eyes. 

“I seem to be...running out of time.” Connor realised. 

“What?” Hank frowned. 

When Hank noticed the blue blood seeping into the ground, all colour seemed to drain from his face. 

“Oh christ.” Hank took a deep breath. “Ok. It's going to be ok, Connor. Tell me what I need to get you!”

“Need to…cauterize the…wounds...” Connors stutter grew worse. 

“Cauter-” Hank exhaled slowly. “Right. How does…how does that work…with you, Connor?”

“The same…as it…it does…with humans.” Connor coughed weakly- another new sensation. “Once it's…cauterized...my body will…rewire...”

“Alright.” Hank took a deep breath. 

He'd have been lying if he said he wasn't scared as hell, so Hank chose to stay silent. Connor needed him, after all- and the revolution needed Connor to survive. Helping Connor out of his bloodstained jacket, he bit back tears of his own when Connor cried out in pain- Hank having to peel the jacket away from Connors wound. Tearing his partners ruined shirt a little on either side to get a better look at the grisly wound, Hank fought back the nausea resulting from seeing a gaping hole in Connors torso. 

Shaking his head slightly, in an effort to refocus, he then moved to tearing the fabric of the androids trouser slightly- just enough to see the entry and exit wounds in Connors right thigh. 

“Least we don't have to go diggin’ for any bullets.” Hank tried alleviating the tension. 

“I…” Connors stutter grew even worse- his eyes blinking rapidly. 

Knowing time was of the essence, Hank began rummaging around in the pockets of his jacket. When he found his old hunting knife in his jacket- not that he'd ever used it for that purpose- Hank exhaled slowly once more. Dread pooling in his stomach, he continued rummaging in his pockets until he found his old lighter. It had definitely seen better days- but it would do. It had to. Flicking the lighter on, Hank used his other hand to guide the blade through the flame- waiting until the metal itself was glowing in an eerie blood red from the heat. 

“This is going to hurt, Connor.” Hank warned. 

“I kn-know.” Connor clenched his shaking hands into fists once again. 

The sobs reflected in Connors voice almost made Hank want to cry himself. 

“Ok. Ok.” Hank took a deep breath, placing the lighter down next to himself. 

Going for the entry wound in Connors torso first, Hank grimaced- before pressing the hot blade onto the jagged and torn flesh. The heart wrenching scream that came forth from Connors mouth threatened to shatter Hanks heart. When his partner collapsed against him, barely conscious, he quickly went for the exit wound in Connors back. Feeling the android writhe in pain was almost as terrifying as the screams, almost as heartbreaking as the tears streaming down Connors face. Knowing that his partner was barely clinging to consciousness, Hank moved Connor into his arms with his free hand- angling him so Connors head was pressed into his shoulder. The glazed over look in the young android's eyes was terrifying- the only signs of life being Connor attempting to speak. 

“Hang in there, son.” Hank spoke soothingly. “We're almost done.”

“I-it...hurts.” Connor sobbed into Hank's shoulder. 

“I know, Connor. I know.” Hank battled his own emotions. 

When the wounds were finally cauterized, Hank cast the blade aside- throwing it as far back as he could. Grimacing at the blue blood covering his hands, he looked back at Connor, who seemed to be wavering in and out of consciousness. The young androids LED was flickering between red and yellow- telling Hank just how little time they had left. 

“You still with me?” Hank held Connor carefully. 

“I…think so?” Connor frowned, blinking rapidly. 

“Did that help?” Hank pursued. 

“Yes. It did.” Connor relaxed slightly, voice stabilising- before grimacing as a fresh wave of pain hit him. 

Frowning, Hank placed a hand on Connors forehead- only to retract it when he felt the artificial skin heating up dangerously. 

“Systems are…overloaded.” Connor explained. “I can't…I have to get to…Markus.”

“You can barely move, Connor!” Hank protested.”

“He's...counting…on me.” Connor tried sitting up, only to fall back. 

“Hang in there.” Hank urged. “We'll get you fixed up- and then you can get these androids out of here. What's next?”

On cue, Connor looked down at his wrists- before shakily pulling up his shirt sleeves, tucking them in around his elbows. The minute motion brought an intense agony, leaving fresh tears to fall silently down the android's face. After a moment, the skin reverted from its humanlike hue…to the standard white marble structure that lay beneath. Gently pressing down, Connor removed a single plate from each wrist- exposing the labyrinth of wires underneath. Watching in morbid fascination, Hank cleared his throat.

“What do I do?” Hank urged. 

“I need…” Connor shuddered when he looked over at his dead replica. 

Putting two and two together, Hank gently laid Connor down on the ground- grimacing when they splashed in the pool of shimmering thirium. Placing Connors jacket underneath his head like a makeshift pillow, Hank quickly rose to his feet. Ignoring the chill that ran down his spine, he dragged the replica’s body over to his partner- turning it onto it's back. Echoing what Connor had done, Hank removed the wrist panels on the replica, shuddering slightly. 

“Connor?” Hank frowned when his partner continued lying there. 

“I'm…I'm here.” Connor spoke weakly. 

The pained and haunted look in his partners eyes frightened Hank- though it was nothing compared to the fear of losing Connor. Moving away, he watched when Connor pulled out a single wire from each of his wrists- a motion that seemed to cause him great pain, if the grimace was anything to go by. Following his partners lead, Hank took out the same wires from the replica, and…at Connors urging, connected them. 

“So this will…what? Transfer the stuff?” Hank was slightly fascinated. 

“It will.” Connor answered simply. “It won't take long.”

True to the androids words, it was only a minute or two before an eerie beeping sound resonated through the room. 

“Feel any better?” Hank moved closer. 

“Not…really.” Connor grimaced as he unlinked the cables before tucking them back into place. “But I'm...not going to die.”

“Jesus, you scared me.” Hank let out a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding. 

“Sorry.” Connor sniffed. 

“Hey. You've got nothin’ to be sorry for.” Hank knelt down beside Connor. 

Once Connor had put the wrist plates back in place, his skin shifted back to the humanlike shade Hank had become so familiar with. Checking Connors forehead, he was at first satisfied that the heat was gone, and ebbing away- but found that replaced with concern at how cold his partner felt. Should androids feel like a block of ice? Shaking his head, Hank steadied his breathing. 

“Think you can sit up?” Hank asked after a moment. 

“No. But I have to. They're all…” Connor sighed heavily. 

Cautiously, Hank looped one of Connors arms over his shoulder, heart finally shattering at the resulting cry of pain from the young android. Hooking his free arm around Connors waist, he slowly pulled him up. Almost as soon as Connor was on his feet, his knees buckled- almost sending the two of them crumpling back down to the ground. 

“How we doing, Connor?” Hank asked when they finally managed to stand upright. 

“I wish they hadn't included pain in my programming.” Connor sounded more human in that moment than Hank could ever have imagined. “I don't like it.”

“Me too, Connor.” Hank shook his head. “Right. Android revolution.”

“We're running out of time.” Connor shook his head in an effort to clear his blurred vision. 

“One last thing.” Hank cautiously left Connor to stand for a moment. 

Removing his jacket, he helped Connor into it- holding back laughter at how the baggy garment absolutely drowned Connor. Zipping up the jacket, he resumed holding one of Connors arms over his shoulder- bringing his free hand around his partners waist one more time. Up close, Hank could feel the young androids body shaking so intensely that it was a wonder Connor was even still standing. 

“Thank you, Hank. I'm…sorry for becoming so...emotional.” Connor seemed embarrassed. 

Hank knew that Connors physical injuries were going to become secondary to the extreme mental scars. But he also knew that he'd be there for Connor. 

He wasn't going to let his partner suffer in silence. 

“You got nothin’ to apologise for, son.” Hank spoke reassuringly. “Now let's free these androids. Then we can get you home.”

“Home? Where-”

“You'll always have a home with me, Connor.”

\----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Incredible. The deviants, they're…singing.”

“In a last show of defiance, the remaining androids seem to have won over the American public.”

“Approaching the last deviants is…something I can't quite believe I'm seeing.”

“What appears to be a damaged android and a…human male…”

“They're leading an army of liberated androids.”

“It seems the Cyberlife warehouse was infiltrated, likely by the same android we're seeing here.”

“A human and an android working together? If that and the singing deviants doesn't convince the President to stand down…I don't know what will.”


End file.
